Are Religious People Stupid?

It is very often said that as a person increases in his education, the less likely it is that he will be religious. The implication of this is, of course, those of you who are religious believers are really dumb. Interestingly, however, a recent study done in the Netherlands done by Egbert Ribberink, who is a sociologist at Erasmus Universiteit in the Netherlands, shows that the situation is rather more complicated.[1]

He investigated the appeal of the New Atheism and atheism in general in a number of European countries. A couple of his interesting results are as follows.

He found that while in predominately religious countries like Spain, Portugal, and Italy, it is among the intellectuals that atheism is the most attractive. Nevertheless, in predominately secular countries, such as the Netherlands, in fact atheism attracts people of lower education and the people of higher education find atheism either too shortsighted or too militant to be attractive.

This certainly accords with the impression I’ve had with at least British atheism which seems predominate among the working classes whereas among the intelligentsia Christian belief and religious belief is quite well represented.

So in predominantly secular nations, religious belief is actually a higher percentage among the intellectual, highly educated people whereas it is among the lower educated people that atheism is the most attractive.

He also found that in post-Protestant countries, the New Atheism that exists there puts a greater emphasis on individuality and personal development. By contrast, in post-Catholic countries, atheism has a more communistic or Marxist view of atheistic belief. So whether a country has a Protestant or Catholic background also tends to shape the type of atheism that exists there. In post-Catholic countries, more communistic, communitarian; whereas in post-Protestant countries, more highly individualistic.

He says thus the theory that “religion is irrational and once people become more scientific, religion will die out” does not mesh with our results. In fact, it is exactly the reverse in predominately secular countries like the Netherlands.

So I thought that was a very interesting study that tends to go against the conventional wisdom that you often hear.[2]

Are religious people stupid? Not necessarily. Emotionally vulnerable? You bet! Religion is basically just one big security blanket for people. After all religions aren't based on facts or actual events (though I'm sure many religious folks with argue otherwise and I'll soon mention why), they're just a jumble of rules and edicts thrown together to allow people to justify their actions and personal beliefs.

That's why there are so many religions in the world, People merely pick and choose to believe in whatever benefits them and refuse to believe anything to the contrary because they attach their egos and feelings of self worth to their religion of choice.

The fact is that we're all walking worm food and we all will die some day, some abruptly, some slowly, and most without rhyme or reason. This scares people, so much to the point they have to lie to themselves about what happens after death just to find a reason to get out of the bed in the morning.

Religion is devoid of any constructive purpose beyond giving comfort to the insecure and nowadays that takes a back seat to how religion is used as a tool to control people and strangle innovation and progress.

So it's not that religious people are necessarily stupid, just emotionally vulnerable individuals whose beliefs BREED stupidity and ignorance.

Posted by The Kiwi is Right on 2015-07-31 18:35:06

Yes!

Posted by DewWahDeity on 2014-10-30 14:40:10

Religious people at the very least have a belief system that indicates that every physical rule we see to true to the greatest extent possible, are actually false. They believe in the most fantastic low probability stories based on zero evidence. I do not know how closely these delusions, or the lack of them correlate to intelligence, but my guess is that religious people are stupid. In polite company I would find a more diplomatic description.

Posted by JayJ7 on 2014-10-12 19:47:45

Really? That is your only argument to discredit Christians? What degrees do you have? There are a lot of Christians that have very high IQ"s. What is yours? just curious!...

Posted by Mom on 2014-09-14 09:51:24

Some believe that the ones who have to have proof will be the ones who will be without excuse when the "Great Tribulation" comes upon the whole Earth! This will be your proof and some will still reject God...Gods proof has always been being able to know the future and telling us what will happen and that self same telling comes true! When the "Man of Sin" comes and you hear of a "Mark" that you have to have on your hand or forehead, to be able to buy or sell This will be your last sign of proof. We can sit here and debate all we want but that will not change the future no matter how much we argue!

Christians are sent to the Earth to warn! If none accept or they choose to not heed our warning then that is no longer our fault, we tried! Some of us really do share the love of God in our hearts and we care too much and are called idiots or crazies, So when you argue with us and call us names, it is no big deal to us if our warning falls on open ears, but if not we still just cant stop careing. It is not in our DNA to do so....To gain even one soul is worth it to us!

God cannot change. In the beginning he set before us blessings and curses. He told us what we needed to do to aquire one or the other, If we choose to sin the curse will follow after, if we choose obediance then the blessings will follow...Just like in the days of NOAH It has always been a choice, not a punishment, plain and simple!...so...CHOOSE! Stop making excuses that in the end, will ultimately amount to nothing and is a waste of time!

If you have not been convinced this late in nthe game you are probably never going to believe even if you were shown the proof, you still will be blinded out of repetition which is too bad! Someone who is set in their ways will always be set in their ways...and there will be those who will never get it and who were already destined to not believe, I hope no one on this PANEL is destined to not believe, and that all will open their spiriitual eyes and believe and be saved!

Posted by Mom on 2014-09-14 09:34:34

Reading the responses from the theists on this page just proves how illogical and deceitful they truly are. Uninterested in engaging in actual debate, or facts, they toss about anecdote and fallacy and then shove their fingers into their ears and scream "lalalalala" it's laughable really.

Quite pathetic Indeed.

Posted by DaisyDukes on 2014-09-02 15:30:06

Pretty ironic you say that. christians have the pastel smiles and stressful naivity because they know they are living a lie because it is obvious.

Posted by Zari on 2014-07-29 00:08:36

Love and understanding is two different things. We need science but everything can be explained by it because it is about the nature of things.We just dont have the tools yet.Science is not limited our tools are.

Posted by Zari on 2014-07-29 00:07:43

Scales in their eyes= They are judging by what they see.It sound like common sense to me.Jump in circles around your house daily 3 times and sing hey macarena or you gonna die in agony for all eternity. Do you believe this? NO? YOU HAVE SCALE IN YOUR EYES!

Posted by Zari on 2014-07-29 00:06:34

What if the universe has a creator but his job is to create so he doest have consciousness.you know like a force of nature.Just because you beleive there is a force out there intelligently creating by order doesnt mean you can prove ANY religion with it.

Posted by Zari on 2014-07-29 00:05:22

Faith is the measure of strenght you believe in something what has reason to be believed in .You can have faith in everything but what you cant understand you doesnt believe because you cannot. I say gibberish to you one for allah one for jeebus and one for the spaghetti monster. Just because you dont get them you believe all 3 and get confused and spin in a circle? Come on.

Posted by Zari on 2014-07-29 00:04:03

You call something unusual a miracle an age old book proof and different thinking Satanic. Whos the superstitious now? New age provides proof and workings based on old truths.While you only have a nonsensical book with disgusting tricks.

Posted by Zari on 2014-07-29 00:02:00

From the immorality of their lies and hoaxes bert.Plus Islam is growing larger and Christianity is shrinking fast anyone who says anything else just has an agenda.

Posted by Zari on 2014-07-29 00:00:35

And what higher being deserves our respect hmm? How should we know? Oh i get it from EVIDENCE for what we use our BRAINS.Whats beyond you.If your god wanted us to believe where is the inscrutable evidence from the beginning easily understandable by all? Hmm? Why would he send a deceiver why would he punish us for our nature? Hmm? Is it part of his lovely plan of omnipotence?

Posted by Zari on 2014-07-28 23:59:25

Your god wants you to act against the nature hes supposedly given you.Its obviously a tortorous hoax you have been given.Christians are financially and spiritually nulled.The word of god is a hoax.I know the true creator and he HATES the bible and the monstrosity written in it.

Posted by Zari on 2014-07-28 23:57:25

Faith comes from proof.I have faith that im using a computer for obvious reasons but you cannot have faith in something you dont have proof to JUST HOPE FOR IT.Prove me that the bible is a magic book what can help because it just bring simony and pain and suffering into this world and countless morons.Its amazing how simple it is to deceive some people like you. Christ said that? Well if i knew there would be morons who would see everything as a miracle in their infinite ignorance i would say the same because they will get even more convinced in their LIE and look upon heathens as "unsavable" enemy and will be easier to kill them.Look upon your monster religion monster.

Posted by Zari on 2014-07-28 23:55:43

First of all if there is an offering there is given proof that the offering exists.ATHEISTS dont believe in god they doesnt say "i dont need you".There are infinite versions of possible gods and if we are not given evidence of any why should we prefer one above the another.Plus why did your god let other religions happen if he wanted us all to receive his offer?Why would we need to be punished for exercising our GOD GIVEN "free will".Its like i dont want you to be robots but i want you to act like one while raping your soul with acting against your sinful nature. If your god exists hes an idiotic monster.

Posted by Zari on 2014-07-28 23:52:16

Fergus your stupidity astounds me. The composition of your posts indicates that you're educated yet clearly you're as thick as a brick. Religion is delusional nonsense that thrives on obedient ignorance and it has nil impact on anything in the real world. Where does god exist but in your imagination?

Posted by Satanic Penguin on 2014-07-22 14:34:42

believers / atheists

cosmology - some kind of god created the universe. Which one? Jahve, jehovah, allach,thor,e.t.c.? Not known yet, so reject the assumption, no proof found whatsoever

morality - god given absolute. Evolved, still evolving and very unsavoury and tribal and emotional unless you overcome your limitations and superstitions by learning and reasoning.

fine tuning - god design- he is a great landscaper - designed natural laws.

We are here so the conditions are barely acceptable, but no way favourable (ice poles, Himalayas, deserts, 3/4 of the area ocean waters, unstable temperatures humidity and wind), unbelievable vastness of inhabitable universes.

communication - oral by means of divine prophets . Poor communicator -oral messages delivered by prophets (today we call them politicians) unconfirmed by material evidence. Happened once in 4 billion years and no printing press let alone plasma screens in the sky, CDs , gold plated diamond encrusted pendrives for everyone? Just hearsay? Come on!!! We live in the era of information. Does god know this? All muslims, christians, jews and 100's other splinters would unite and live in peace forever if he was a good communicator. Do not tell me he is impotent!!!

.evolution - may be yes, may be no,

Proved and tested !!! Shave a chimp and you will see where you come from ( do not envy his nuts!!).

origin of life - god's creation.

Not explained yet - so what? Call god to create a crocoduck out of thin air, he he.This would be a miracle!!

miracles- Irish women see guardian angels Mental issues

near death experience - delusion not scientifically confirmed.

anyway John Paul II was a great homo sapiens.

regards,Andrzej

Posted by Andrzej Wojtowicz on 2014-07-13 21:22:27

Where did you pull these ridiculous conclusions from? Your arsehole? It is completely false to claim that within secular societies, the more intelligent tend to favour religion. Stupid beliefs are inevitably going to attract a greater percentage of stupid people.

Posted by Mike Brooks on 2014-05-28 23:31:30

William Craig got schooled by Sean Carroll. If you don;t think William Craig is a babbling idiot, a liar and an immoral monster watch that debate.

Posted by Boris on 2014-05-19 10:42:44

The Creator I know is perfectly just as much as he is perfectly loving. His justice means that those who rebel against him by saying, 'I don't need you' must be punished. In his generosity, he offers us all a way out of this punishment - Jesus Christ! The problem is we are not all used to receiving fabulous gifts like this without thinking it's a scam. The world has taught us this - not the Creator. Denial is missing out on the most incredible gift ever.This has very little to do with intelligence. It has a lot to do with realising how small and helpless we really are. We don't need arrogance; it leads to failure! We need to pursue humility. Humility has nothing to do with intelligence either. It is taught and caught behind the scenes. In my time of studying in Universities over many years, I've scene plenty of arrogance (including from tutors) and not much of humility.

Posted by Fergus Bert on 2014-05-10 22:57:10

Edward, the cliff is for the people who deny God. Now is a good time to give the Word of God a try. Most people who deny it, have been hurt in some way or know someone who has given Christianity a bad name. Don't let this get in the way of a fabulous relationship with the Creator.

Posted by Fergus Bert on 2014-05-10 22:46:27

That's the whole point of the message - it's miraculous. Those who believe in a Creator of the planet don't have any problem with a 'virgin Mary'. If I could create an earth, solar system and universe, surely I could orchestrate Mary's birth too.

Don't believe in a Creator? In this book (the Bible) that so many people disrespect, God says that mankind has all the proof they need and that man/women is without excuse. There is so much more to it as well. Very exciting ....

Posted by Fergus Bert on 2014-05-10 22:43:42

How can a book written over 1500 years of History be just entertaining? The Bible is a matrix that has incredible power and help on offer. Even those 100 versions have a closeness that would surprise you. Anything we don't understand in the Bible is left to faith. God warns us that we cannot please him without faith. Christ said himself that people were seeing his miracles with their own eyes and they still wouldn't believe. Faith must begin at some point.

Posted by Fergus Bert on 2014-05-10 22:37:30

Is it only religious people who are stupid? Seriously .....

Posted by Fergus Bert on 2014-05-10 22:31:22

Christianity has nothing to do with superstition. So much for Sociology 101. You might need to look up 'new age' in Google for that one.

Posted by Fergus Bert on 2014-05-10 22:27:10

Is Christianity really going away? It has more followers than any other belief system on the planet and growing. Where are coming from, Boris?

Posted by Fergus Bert on 2014-05-10 22:25:11

On the contrary, it is very unreasonable not to have a faith. Not having a faith is saying, 'I understand it all on my own, thanks! Don't need help!' Well, that attitude is not only dangerous for you but for anyone who relies on you in your life.

Posted by Fergus Bert on 2014-05-10 22:23:10

Boris, I urge you to research very carefully, the idea that even one single cell can come from existing gases, materials on their own. The single cell has a genetic code instilled in it - information, a plan. It is jaw-dropping to think that this genetic code just happened on it's own. I teach Science and love the subject, but Science in itself is not the full story. Your thoughts on Cause and Effect go a lot deeper.

Posted by Fergus Bert on 2014-05-10 22:17:55

Intellect is exactly what gets in the way. How can any of us expect that we can satisfy life's questions with a brain that cannot come even close to creating an earth, a universe, a seed, a human baby, clouds, rain etc. There is no reason or logic in that. We have lost our respect for a higher being and this has happened purely from arrogance.

Posted by Fergus Bert on 2014-05-10 22:12:16

Char, we don't have to prove anything to you. The Word says that God has given all the proof there is and that mankind is without excuse. We individually have to make our choice.

Posted by Fergus Bert on 2014-05-10 22:05:53

Abbey, there is plenty of reason in Christianity. What we don't do is claim that we know all the answers. In the meantime, we aren't going to be sucked in by a Scientist or Philosopher who has an opinion on something. The Bible is by far, the greatest reference point I can find. It doesn't promote living any way you like and this for a logical reason,

Posted by Fergus Bert on 2014-05-10 22:03:14

No, IQ has nothing to do with it. People with low IQ can still show genuine love towards others. Love cannot be explained away by Science so, we cannot use Science as a crutch! Many atheists, like you, need proof based on Science. So don't think you don't need anything. You do - you need Science! The problem is that Science cannot manage the supernatural. Science is limited... (and this is coming from a Science teacher).

Yes, I have met unjust Atheists who are human just like everyone else.

Posted by Fergus Bert on 2014-05-10 21:59:02

The Bible says that non-believers have scales on their eyes - that sounds like blindness to me. Unfortunately, believers have contributed greatly to Christianity getting a bad reputation... perhaps leading to comments like yours Abbey. I get that. What we don't want to do is miss out on God's incredible goodness, though.

Posted by Fergus Bert on 2014-05-10 21:49:48

That a stupid comment right there!

Posted by Fergus Bert on 2014-05-10 21:43:37

No its not the same. the burden of proof is on the claimer. If you believe that unicorns exist, it is for you to prove to me that they do, not the other way around. You can't claim that unicorns exist and ask me to prove to you that they don't exist. If you can't prove it, it is safe to assume that you are delusional. Sadly, when many people are delusional, it becomes religion.

Posted by Char on 2014-04-21 21:39:17

Faith is not superstition. I have faith in gravity because of the proof for it. Gravity isn't superstition. Faith based on good reasons is no more superstition. Atheism on the other hand is usually just empty slogans and based on misinformation and so closer to a superstition than theism is, which is supported by contemporary science

Posted by Alex Dieatrick on 2014-01-24 14:44:25

Religion is the wilful delusion of the naive and the ignorant. Religious people aren't more stupid, but stupid people are more religious.

Thought I should add, as a comment on the comments made. Atheist, is a word that describes someone that is non religious. Christians mainly, have difficulty understanding facts. With all due respect to Christians, I am not calling them out. I am pointing out a well known fact. If Christians were able to question their beliefs, they would know that not only has much of what is considered religious doctrine has been debunked ie: Codex Sinaiticus, It is obviously to difficult for most Christians to allow themselves to question their beliefs, because if they did, they would have no other choice other then to question the Bible itself. Which would surely confuse as well as contradict everything they believe in. Atheist, have no intention to disrespect Christians. Atheist simply ask for the same respect they give Christians in allowing them to believe what they feel is best to shape their lives around. Let's not forget that atheist, aren't responsible for much of the worlds distrust of others. In fact, in my personal opinion, atheist aren't responsible for any of the worlds distrust of others!

Posted by Gil Lastrapes on 2013-11-27 11:05:49

These so called studies are ridiculous. First of all, referring to atheist as a group that follows a belief system is flawed. Thus there is no way to study atheist. Let's get something straight. Atheist, are simply people that do not believe in religious doctrine. It's not possible to study atheistism, it isn't an ism. There is no known system of beliefs that can be connected to being an atheist. Apparently descriptions can be found all over the place ( Websters, etc... ) But most if not all are complete fabrications. Humans apparently believe that everything has a meaning and or description. Well this is one word that simply describes a person without religious beliefs. Attempting to go any further explanation is without merit. Mr. William Lane Graig, may have good intentions. But the fact of the matter is, his research is without question flawed. It uses data that is simply can not be applied, thus the study falls short of any value at all. The real problem is, most religious " Christians " aren't able to comprehend another human that exist without some sort of a belief system. Thus, they believe being an atheist must have some sort of purpose behind it. Well, it doesn't ! It serves no purpose what so ever other then to free the person from responsibilities that he or she does not wish to accept. I know some of you are asking, what does he mean, free them from responsibilities? I am talking about the responsibilities that come along with being a Christian. For example, believing in a God or in the Jesus as the son of...God or that there ever existed a women called Mary that conceived a child without the help of a male partner. For atheist, the belief system is based on science and known facts one can refer to, that can be verified. You don't need a high or low IQ to be an atheist. You don't need anything to be an atheist. The personally accepted fact that God is no more then a myth, is how all Atheist, think! Next fact, Atheist have absolutely no issues or problems with Christian, Muslims, Jews, etc... Atheist have no agenda what so ever. Atheist, believe in the freedom of all to come to their own conclusions... All atheist ask for is to be allowed the right to not participate in religious doctrine. That's it ! The next time you hear someone say, atheist are... remember, atheist aren't is the real answer ! Atheist aren't Christians, Muslims, etc.... they are just people that wish to live their lives helping, others... I've never met a cruel or unjust atheist, have you?

Posted by Gil Lastrapes on 2013-11-27 10:39:54

I agree with you, Adam, that people like Boris are pitiful trolls. But I believe there is more to it than 'craving for attention'. The British journalist and Christian, Peter Hitchens (who is the brother of the late Christopher Hitchens - and the very opposite of him) once suggested that people (like Boris) who attempted to haunt his own blog were by definition, because of their constant and prolonged presence, unconsciously fearful of such concepts as ultimate accountability and of an absolute truth which they cannot bring themselves to properly confront - within themselves or with others. They are, as Peter Hitchens described with an old English term - 'simply fret'.

Posted by peterchar on 2013-10-23 15:29:34

No, they're just sheep. Being blindly led off of a cliff.

Posted by Edward Lewis on 2013-10-23 08:11:29

Please explain the difference between superstition and "reasonable faith". Faith is by definition superstition.

Posted by Robert on 2013-10-16 00:03:32

This low-life troll apparently enjoys lurking around these comment boards engaging in mudslinging and nasty personal attacks - perhaps it might be better to just ignore it. It seems to be craving for attention.

Posted by Adam on 2013-10-13 23:14:23

There are so many inaccuracies and deliberate distortions in this post that it's hard to believe the author is not a troll.

Posted by Carl on 2013-10-13 23:08:13

This is just ridiculous pseudo-intellectual posturing without substance. A theist could quite easily propose exactly the same thing about atheists using grammatical opposites. It leads nowhere.

Posted by peterchar on 2013-10-07 17:16:42

What absolute nonsense when put into context with the reality and significance of openly declared affiliation and interest in religion amongst the very young.

Try factoring into whatever loaded equation being used people who have actually had time to live a life and to subjectively evaluate it from that perspective. Perhaps you should consider such devoutly Christian people as the Oxford University Professor of Mathematics, Dr. John Lennox. Or the Cambridge University Professor, Alister McGrath. There are a multitude of other such brilliant people - not least your own fellow American, the scientist, Dr. Francis Collins - head of the Human Genome Project.

Boris's grasping at stupid, irrelevant, straws indicates quite the opposite of what he is attempting to convince himself of.

Posted by peterchar on 2013-10-07 17:16:37

To assume the materials of the universe - namely matter, energy and time itself - have an infinite past track record is both scientifically and philosophically analogous to the fantasy of perpetual motion. Namely impossible. No matter how long might be a line of dominoes - or how diverse the multiplicity of different lines there might be ever be at any given moment, a conscious being must first conceive of the domino itself and flick that first finger. Without a background of consciousness you would not only have an obsolete universe, every form of existence within it would become obsolete the very moment it became contemporary. In fact the very word existence would literally have no meaning. That is logically inexorable.

Ironically, what many atheists are blind to is that it is their beloved, 'silver shilling under the pillow', concept of 'infinity' which actually becomes the escapist dream of the contents of Santa's sack and of the Spaghetti Monster's bowl.

'Boris' should come to my own country, the UK, and team up with the ilk of Richard Dawkins and Polly Toynbee et.al. However many additions to the various examples of small minded, swivel eyed, idiocy there might ever be, it will always make for an interesting, self-defeating, spectacle.

Posted by peterchar on 2013-10-04 10:03:32

Religious people aren't necessarily stupid, they're just willfully blind. They avoid uncomfortable facts and lines of thought that contradict what they already think. The bottom line is that religious people are not truth seekers-- they do not follow reason wherever it leads them. They're too busy defending what they already believe to be the truth.

Posted by AbbeyRoadster on 2013-09-23 20:01:22

As in "Dr." Jason Long...the pharmacist? LOL. Dear Boris, you shouldn't be on this blog. You should be busy writing to Dawkins and Harris and Kraus and Rosenberg and Price and Spong and all the rest of those real scholars and telling them how stupid they were to debate Dr. Craig when YOU were there all along, ready to easily succeed where they miserably failed. I, for one would LOVE to see you in a debate...

Posted by simon on 2013-09-16 13:53:57

"Nearly three-fourths of all studies since the 1920s that investigated a correlation between intelligence and religious affiliation have found that the proportion of atheists, agnostic individuals, and deists increases dramatically as you move up the scale in school grades, exam scores, and IQ tests. The remaining fourth of the studies show no correlation; zero reviews suggested that people in organized religions are more intelligent than those with secular beliefs. The apparent conclusion to draw from the data is that people who are more intelligent tend to disbelieve religious superstitions." - Jason Long

Posted by Boris on 2013-09-07 11:24:56

I would crush Craig in a debate. I'd make him cry like a little girl. He hasn't got the guts to respond to any of my posts because I know that Craig knows that I know he's a liar.

Posted by Boris on 2013-08-31 11:06:10

One of the creationist’s favorite unethical tactics is tomisstate what their critic’s have really said or in William Craig’s case whatthe current scientific consensus really is. Craig constantly repeats the liethat scientists and atheists insist the universe came from nothing. The truthis that only theists claim the universe came from nothing. The currentconsensus in cosmology on the other hand is that the materials the universe ismade of, matter and energy have always existed in one form or another. Whatreason do we have to believe that a state of nothingness is ever possible? Ofcourse there is no good reason at all to believe this. That is unless you aretrying to suppress the truth.

“By predicating a First Cause [God the uncaused Cause], thetheist removes the mystery a stage further back… Such a belief is a logicalabsurdity, and is an example of the ancient custom of creating a mystery toexplain a mystery… Moreover, if it is reasonable to assume a First Cause ashaving always existed, why is it unreasonable to assume that the materials ofthe universe always existed? To explain the unknown by the known is a logicalprocedure; to explain the known by the unknown is a form of theologicallunacy.” – David Brooks (1902-1994)

William Craig takes the first premise of the CosmologicalArgument [that whatever begins to exist has a cause] to be self-evident, withno other justification other than common everyday experience. That’s the typeof experience that tells us the world is flat. However physical events at theatomic and sub-atomic level are observed to have no evident cause. Craig countersthat quantum events are still “caused” just caused in a non-predeterminedmanner, what he calls “probabilistic causality.” So Craig is admitting that the“cause” in his first premise could be an accidental one, something spontaneous,something not predetermined. By allowing a probabilistic cause he destroys hisown case for a predetermined creation. But what would you expect from a man whoclaims animals don’t feel any pain? Yeah they shoot horses with a broken legfor the fun of it I suppose.

The First Cause Argument fails because it relies on thelogical fallacy of Special Pleading. If God could have always existed so couldhave mass-energy. But here is the final nail in the coffin of this stupidargument: Even if we grant this argument everything it asks the atheist couldstill easily assume that the First Cause is a purely natural event, a quantumevent such as vacuum fluctuation. Quantum events have a way of just happening,without any cause.

Posted by Boris on 2013-08-28 13:27:08

Why attack Christianity? It's going away very nicely all by itself.

Posted by Boris on 2013-08-27 18:28:50

You do realize that your comments have actually no intellectual value whatsoever and your words merely show how utterly bereft you are of engaging in a dialogue with people. "Faith is a vice, skepticism a virtue - there is no such thing as reasonable faith" - and your arguments for such statements are? And do you even know what the "Buybull" (nice childish comment there, Boris - keep it classy and hold your head held high, you should be proud how you come across to people) says? Or should we just take Boris' words as gospel (no pun intended) :)

Your previous comment that WLC "demonstrates his stupidity everytime he opens his yap" is a very fine and cogent ad hominem attack - but do you have anything of any substance to say in defense of your statements or your worldview? Or is that all you can think to say to defend your position with actually nothing of substance to back your claims? Because if you are presenting an alternative to Christian belief through your comments here, then quite frankly, I don't see how anyone can rationally choose the alternative you represent. Honestly, your comments are welcome because it shows just how shallow atheists can be these days. If what you represent is the atheist worldview, then by all means, keep commenting. Your comments are a way for people to see how weak the attacks are on Christianity.

Posted by John on 2013-08-26 18:02:25

Faith is a vice, skepticism is a virtue. Exactly the opposite of what the Buybull teaches. So there is no such thing as reasonable faith.

Posted by Boris on 2013-08-17 13:30:30

I think William Craig demonstrates the stupidity of Christians every time he opens his yap.

Posted by Boris on 2013-08-17 13:28:11

Please don't advertise. Flagged.

Posted by Jake on 2013-08-09 02:00:50

This has nothing to do with superstition so your point is invalid. The very name of the site is reasonable faith, not superstition.

Posted by Alex Dieatrick on 2013-08-02 17:23:53

Yet, what is a society made up of?

Posted by Legomyegoorj on 2013-07-31 13:52:29

Well, you're not smart enough to understand that he wasn't talking about the individual, or you to be exact, but rather society at large. No offense.

Posted by NotaRegularUser on 2013-07-30 08:50:27

As a Christian pretty sure that I'm smart considering on going into the Medical Field I need to be.

Posted by Alden Smith on 2013-07-25 16:17:06

I agree, intelligence and education are not synonymous, but then you'd have to at least be literate to take an IQ test. I think Peter brought up great points

Posted by imer on 2013-07-25 09:47:04

I agree, intelligence and education are not synonymous, but then you'd have to at least be literate to take an IQ test. I think Peter brought up a great points

Posted by imer on 2013-07-25 09:44:16

Intelligence cannot be altered with study as you suggest. Even though there are ways to improve intelligence, like exercising short-term memory, study alone won't. That misses the point any way. Even if we pretend you can improve your intelligence with study, if you are a serious apologist and you are asked a question that involves intelligence/stupidity you have to show your audience your seriousness and your commitment by addressing the question as it is proposed.

There are no people trying to disprove theism, because no form of theism was ever been proven in the first place. When one of the 3000 forms of theism is ever proven, let me know. For the time being, the burden of proof rests on the theist.

Knowledge doesn't make anybody arrogant. Arrogant people will be arrogant regardless of how much they know. I even notice the opposite phenomenon. Knowledge cause people to feel self confident about what they know, and they only people confident about their knowledge are ignorant. There's an inversion of confidence and knowledge.

Posted by Ciro Galli on 2013-07-25 01:21:31

The more superstitious a population is, the more ignorant it is. This is Sociology 101.

Posted by bendk on 2013-07-24 14:21:37

Bro...that's silliest thing I've ever heard. 1st, intelligence and education DO have some correlation. Just like athleticism and playing a sport are correlated. You don't even know ones athletic limits UNLESS they play a sport (generally speaking). Also, the exercise itself produces more athleticism, just as study sharpens the mind. Secondly, You're making some vague statement that has no support (or at least you offer none). What study are you citing? At least Dr Craig references something.

What you also fail to realize of that the basic truths regarding Theism are not difficult to grasp, so it doesn't require "profound" and difficult truths to be understood. This is exactly what we ought to expect if God were appealing to everyone. And not just the "intellectual elite". Of course, atheists lament this is they like to feign themselves smarter and better than the masses. Some of the greatest minds this world has EVER SEEN have been theists, and Christians in particular. Many of them responsible for laying the foundation of scientific investigation, which, ironically, is what pseudo intellectuals like to use to "disprove" theism.

Knowledge makes your arrogant, but love edifies. Even IF it were true that the smartest people were atheists or agnostic, that could very well be explained by arrogance, which is not a characteristic inherent to being bright. It is a trait, however, of one who fails to realize how small he/she really is, and how little we actually understand about the world. Good day.

Posted by Todd Shannon on 2013-07-24 12:06:13

Had you actually examined those studies for yourself, you'd know that they're highly criticized for cherry picking. They conveniently ignores outliers like in the Nyborg study where Anglicans and Jews outperformed atheists and agnostics in the IQ tests, and where data contrary to their conclusions was ignored, such as atheists being 12th in household income despite their theory predicting that their higher IQ would result in higher social success. They ignore competing explanatory factors, such as the Flynn effect, were criticized for choosing non-representative samples, and for treating IQ differences as being significant despite these differences falling within the margin of error for the sample size.

But there are more important problems than that with the studies. All forms of intelligence tests are culturally biased. They test only for what the tester thinks is representative of intelligence, and will reflect the biases and assumptions of the tester. In fact, an examination of the biases of the researchers whose work on religiosity and intelligence that have been widely publised in popular media, Lynn, Hamilton, Nyborg, and Kanazawa, show that they are using the same research methods to support the racist savanna theory, and to advocate that women are less intelligent than men.http://www.edrev.info/essays/v...http://www.guardian.co.uk/comm...

Additionally, new research is showing that there are biases within the academy when it comes to selecting for hiring new professors, with implications on other selection processes such as selection for graduate studies.

Of course, education and intelligence have nothing to do with each other. So Dr. Craig's approach is misleading, and ultimately he's not even addressing the question. For him to address the question he would have to check statistics that deal with the correlation between intelligence and religiosity, which clearly show the people with the higher IQ or intelligence tend to be irreligious, and the other way around.